Radar's Report (TV series episode)
Radar's Report was the third episode of the Season 2 of the TV series M*A*S*H, also the 27th overall episode of the series. Written by Sheldon Keller (story) and Laurence Marks (teleplay), the episode was directed by Jackie Cooper. It originally aired on CBS-TV on September 29, 1973. Synopsis Klinger's girl back home wants to marry him, Hawkeye flirts with a nurse (Joan Van Ark), and all the goings on are reported to the Army in Radar's weekly report. Full episode summary During another extensive surgery session, a Chinese soldier is brought in for treatment. While the staff is distracted, the soldier jumps off the operating table and grabs a scalpel. Henry and a nurse (Lieutenant Johnson) are both attacked and a blood vial connected to Trapper John's last patient is knocked over, contaminating the field of operation. The Chinese soldier is finally stopped when Klinger steps into the O.R. with a rifle - though Klinger's dress is cut by the scalpel attack. Trapper takes several more steps to try and save his patient, but the young man dies a day later due to complications. Furious, Trapper confronts the Chinese prisoner, entertaining thoughts of revenge, but Hawkeye successfully talks him down. Hawkeye spends his free time tending to the wounded nurse, quickly becoming enamored with her. He is badly shaken when he notices she wears a wedding ring, but Erica explains that the ring is to ward off undesired attention and that she is indeed deeply attracted to Hawkeye. The two enter a relationship but when Hawkeye starts telling others they are getting married, she thinks he's going too far, and she breaks up with him and puts in for a transfer. Hawkeye is disappointed. "Well, the boot is finally on the other foot," he says. He tells her if they can't have a marriage, how about a "short, intense engagement?" She agrees. Meanwhile, Frank and Margaret insist on a psych evaluation for Klinger, in hopes that he'll get his Section 8. Major Milton Freedman (later called Sidney) (Allan Arbus) analyzes Klinger and fills out paperwork declaring him "a transvestite and a homosexual," a report that will likely follow Klinger for the rest of his life. Klinger flatly refuses to sign anything supporting Freedman's analysis. Research notes/Fun facts *This is the first appearance of Sidney Freedman. In this episode he is called "Milton Freedman," but this will change to "Sidney Freedman" by his next appearance and remain so till the end of the series. He may have decided and/or received permission to use a different, more friendly sounding, name - most likely his middle name - to put people at their ease. *In Season 2, the broadcast order of the episodes closely match the production order. This episode is one of only two aberrations. It was produced second but broadcast third, after "5 O'Clock Charlie". It could be that the Fox Ranch was not available when it was time to produce "5 O'Clock Charlie" (which required a lot of outdoor location filming) and so the next episode (which is largely indoors) was produced ahead of it. *Timeline Fix: Radar gives the date of his report as Oct 17, 1951. At this stage of the series, this date is still plausible and doesn't create any problems yet. This date was later used again in "''A War for All Seasons''" in which Major Winchester loses bets on the Giant-Dodgers baseball game. *This should have been Trapper John's farewell episode, nearly suffering a nervous breakdown at the loss of his patient; likewise, Hawkeye suffers an emotional breakdown in the "''The Late Captain Pierce''" and a nervous breakdown in the last episode "''Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen''." *This episode was later loosely remade as "Guerilla My Dreams" in which a North Korean Guerrilla nearly kills a patient in the MASH 4077 hospital. Guest stars/Recurring cast *William Christopher as Father Mulcahy *Jamie Farr as Corporal Klinger *Allan Arbus as Major Sidney Freedman *Joan Van Ark as Lieutenant Erica Johnson *Derick Shimatsu as Chinese prisoner *Uncredited appearances: **Kellye Nakahara Category:Season 2 episodes